A podcast all about Japanese cartoons and comics as discussed by three self-proclaimed experts in the world of anime and manga! Plus anime news / reviews, coverage of classic anime, hentai / yaoi, and much, much more. Updated every week. We hope.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

2/16/07, 5:15 AM: Our hosting is now working once more. If you were unable to download the latest episode yesterday (about 40% of everyone was affected by this), please retry again now.

Daryl has an advance review of Le Chevalier D'Eon, Gerald gets sprung with Utawarerumono, and Clarissa reflects upon Nerima Daikon Brothers. As a test to see if we can hang with REAL reviewers, all of us have decided to review just Volume 1 of shows we've never seen before, all courtesy of ADV Films. We're going nowhere fast.

Introduction (0:00 - 19:48)One guy on the GeekNights forums said that we answer too many emails per show and should stick to one per episode, but we'd never get through it all if we did that! Besides, if certain parts of the show aren't your bag, you can check these show notes for the timecodes for each segment so you know what to skip over. We're asked to name our Top 10 Mediocre Anime, which proves impossible for us and results in a lengthy diatribe over the usefulness and viability of quantitative ratings systems as a whole. The voicemails reveal that DARYL'S LIFE GOAL IS ACCOMPLISHED, and yet he is not the one equipped to complete the requested task to "make Gerald a real man." However, this happened in celebration of Gerald's birthday:

Let's News! (19:48 - 39:06)Paprika didn't get nominated for an Oscar, probably because nobody saw it. Thanks, Sony! By the way, they're distributing Tekkon Kinkreet, too. And they're denying that they prohibit adult content on Blu-Ray, but of the eight or so duplication centers, they run two and Disney works with five (and apparently per their contracts, duplicators who work with Disney agree not to duplicate adult content). The identity of the remaining one is shrouded in secrecy. Speaking of secret identities, Princess Ai is getting set for another giant push. You know, the "manga" that's written by the Tokyopop CEO under the fake persona "DJ Milky"? The one that contains his poetry? Kind of like how the theme songs to Initial D, GTO, Rave Master, and Reign the Conqueror were changed to shitty things he wrote himself? Hopefully he won't throw any of his office chairs our way. Hmm, we probably won't be getting anything from Tokyopop anytime soon. Steel Jeeg's getting remade, and a lot of smaller US anime cons got canceled, too (there is a much larger story about this particular con full of drama, suspense, and Dan Woren, the voice of Roy Fokker). Also, fanboys everywhere are canceling their Gunbuster orders because the US DVD altered about a minute worth of the background music. We're told that omelettes are nutritious.

Promo: Anime Roundtable (39:06 - 39:42)Do you like our podcast? This is sort of like, the Canadian version of us. Daryl thinks that one guy Neil sounds like he's impersonating Scott Thompson's Buddy Cole character from Kids in the Hall, and the fangirls on it are stereotypical fangirls and therefore THE ENEMY. However, one of them on the latest episode said she liked Mind Game. She will be spared in the first sweep, but we'll be sure to leave room in the oven for the next go since she thinks Ryoga's hot because of the fang. Ain't no love in the hood for Madarame, it seems.

Review: Le Chevalier D'Eon (39:42 - 1:10:03)Daryl's pick is probably the most recent thing he's ever reviewed in the history of the podcast, as this Production IG title is still ongoing in Japan. Production IG + Kenshin + Comte de Saint Germain?! Hell yeah! They couldn't POSSIBLY screw this one up, right? If we never hear back from ADV ever again, we'll know this is the reason.

Production IG's official English-language Le Chevalier site - be sure to check the Special Feature section for several interviews with the crew, because otherwise you'd never find out that they marketed this series to takarazuka fans and cast the voice actress for Lady Oscar from Rose of Versailles in later episodes

Mike Toole's Sorcerer Stabber Orphen dub/sub comparison - Internet Explorer is required to view this file, which is presented in How-They-Lied-O-Vision (copyright Corn Pone Flicks), this is one of many articles from Anime Jump that was lost when the old site died and everything moved over to the new site. Incidentally, the new site is also dead, and updates to it are basically no longer possible due to some sort of bizarre CSS debacle or something.

Correction: Marie was not 15 when she married Louis XV, thus making Louis 8. Louis was 15, thus making Marie 22. It wasn't OUR mistake, it was the commentary track's!

Promo: Up a Paddle (1:10:03 - 1:10:40)You see this guy's show notes? Notes that tell you every single point that's covered in the episode that are a mere fraction of the length of this crap? And he remembered to actually put the links in rather than just write a bunch of garbage? That's the way show notes should be.

Review: Utawarerumono (1:10:40 - 1:32:54)Gerald picked this one to review after seeing the impressive trailer for it on The Anime Network. What Gerald did not know then and knows now was that this anime is based off of a porn game yet is not a porn anime. This is truly a testament to the work of those poor interns who have to edit together trailers to make crappy shows looks decent. If we never hear back from ADV ever again, we'll know this is the reason.

Review: Nerima Daikon Brothers (1:32:54 - 1:56:36)Clarissa pulled the latest work from WataNABE SHINichi (that's how you get "Nabeshin" for a nickname, kids!). It's...pretty much the same as the rest of his work. If we never hear back from ADV ever again, we'll know this is the reason.

Promo: Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast (1:56:36 - 1:57:28)Daryl has once again made a guest appearance on this podcast, this time to review the Greatest Movie EVER!, Streets of Fire. Joining him on this expedition is Gerald and former guest/frequent poster Steve Harrison. Maybe we should get Paul to record special promos for those episodes as opposed to just taking music from the movie and playing it at the same time as his promo. Hmm.

Closing (1:57:28 - 2:02:32)Next episode, it's time to get back on track, sort of. Gerald's reviewing Spirit of Wonder (as much of it as he could get a hold of), Daryl has vowed to increase the number of manga reviews he's done by reviewing the ultra-manly gekiga samurai action piece Satsuma Gishiden, and Clarissa vows to be even more manly than Daryl since she's reviewing MAZINKAISER~! Why? You don't wanna know why. Everybody ready? Get it on.

Nerima Daikon Brothers? Not only am I finding that show hilarious, but that is one of the best dubs in recent memory. I was really impressed how well they were able to make the songs work in English. I haven't listened to the episode yet, just giving my opinion.

Gerald dosent like Excel Saga or anything by Nabeshin? Thats just wrong. One of my first anime I bought on dvd was Excel Saga, and the only person I have cosplayed as was Nabeshin when he came to Anime Central a few years back (He was hallarious).

UtawarerumonoI wonder if knowing that this show was based on a porn game affected Gerald's impression of the show. When I saw the show, I didn't know that, and was surprised about half way in, when the nature of the show seemed to change. Eventually the show almost completely devolves into a harem show, but the first half seemed (to me) like a fantasy-themed political show.

I'm not saying that I would recommend it, because the second half was disappointing, but I liked the first half okay. The fact that the characters had furry ears and tails was acceptable as part of a fantasy show (I actually thought they were foxes, which are Japanese mythical creatures).

I like good artwork in my anime, and enjoy slice-of-life aspects to shows, so the fact that there was some really good architecture, and that they had animated scenes of people doing everyday tasks using primitive technology was actually a plus for me.

Since I didn't expect that the show was an action show, I was not disappointed with the amount of fighting. In fact a major theme of the show is the struggle to balance the desire to live in peace against the need to defend one's family.

SPOILER ALERT!What you might not get from the first disc is the scale of the show. In the later episodes, the main character, is in charge of whole armies, so the battles are at a much larger scale. This means that some of the show is more strategic, but it does get fairly bloody.

I'm only 38 minutes and 18 seconds into the episode, but I wanted to comment on the Gunbuster controversy. I'm definitely buying the DVD, but I am a bit annoyed at the change in the music. I'd be less annoyed if it was for actual legal reasons (Kodocha, Zeta Gundam, Hare/Guu, etc....uh, I mean, etc.), but since, as you guys pointed out, it was already released on VHS back in...when was that?...[runs downstairs to check U.S. Renditions VHS]...1990 with the "Cahriots of Fire"-esque music intact and no lawsuits, why are they changing it now?

My guess is that they're overly afraid of the mere possibility of a lawsuit. Like FUNimation changing Famous Detective Conan to Case Closed or Geneon (well, technically they were Pioneer then) moving the third episode (the Hitler one) of Lupin III Part 2 to the fifth DVD volume (between episodes 26 and 27), they suffer from the delusion that anyone is paying attention to them outside of the anime fan community. As I said, this isn't enough to keep me from buying the set, but it is enough to annoy me.

Speaking of changing the soundtrack on the Patlabor movie DVD's: First off, the soundtrack was not re-recorded for the 5.1 mix of the second movie. Unlike the first film, they still had the component recordings. Second, it did bother me that the 2.0 mixes weren't also included, so I bought used copies of the Manga Video Patlabor movie DVD's. I don't know if I'll ever watch them, but if I ever want to do a soundtrack comparison for the first movie, or confirm my theory that Manga's subs were dubtitles ("suspended" and "confined to quarters" are not necessarily synonymous--especially here, Manga!), I have the ability to do so.

By the way, Daryl, the directors may have approved the changes,but approval doesn't necessarily mean preference (quote blatantly stolen from here).

it was already released on VHS back in...when was that?...[runs downstairs to check U.S. Renditions VHS]...1990 with the "Cahriots of Fire"-esque music intact and no lawsuits, why are they changing it now?

I hate to drag out this trope again, but the situation in 1990 was much different from what it is today. Back then anime was all but unheard of to people who weren't actively seeking it out, and somewhat difficult to impossible for most people (at least, those not actively attending cons or living in big cities) to obtain commercially.

I don't doubt that U.S. Renditions could have floated under the radar much more easily in 1990, when anime wasn't available almost everywhere you looked, and the Internet wasn't nearly as search-capable, let alone something nearly everyone had. If Gunbuster was actually doing something actionable, it would be considerably harder for BVUSA to get away with not being noticed. A slick, readily available premium DVD set that's getting attention online and in magazines is much more visible than a comparatively unheralded release that was largely relegated to the VHS shelves of a few rentals and retail stores.

There is some kind of precedent for that: Green Jello got away with calling their band that name (even after a record deal), until they gained enough notoriety/MTV and radio play that Jello's parent company took notice and forced them to change it.

THAT SAID, I don't think the music in Gunbuster violates copyright. It's a clear homage, yes, but I doubt it's actionable (unless a sue-happy corporation says "close enough" and takes it to to court anyway, which in itself would surely bankrupt BVUSA regardless of win or loss) and I do think this edit was an overreaction. But I think it's a little disingenuous to attempt to compare the the US Renditions release with that of BVUSA's release, because they're both fairly different in terms of scale and extenuating circumstances.

It's not just you. Our hosting server appears to be down, and so the links to every single one of our shows are currently not working. Since I can still FTP into the site and get files that way, I have mirrored at least this episode for the time being and edited in the mirror link to the top of this episode post.

That doesn't solve the problem for all the people who are subscribed to the show via podcatcher software (which is most people), but hopefully this will be fixed within a few hours or so.

The clips reminded me of outtakes; what might seem funny at the time isn't necessarily funny to a viewer.

Admittedly I'm not a fan of the Family Guy-esque 45 second vomit joke, even though the second video is sort of well, that. The first video doesn't really contain any "joke" aside from the situational peculiarity of a large group of people, many of whom are wearing pink Unicorn Power shirts, eating three gallons of baked beans from two massive bowls.

As for the standing question concerning "ratings" on reviews, I personally (as a writer and a reader) use them as a point of reference for the review's tone, rather than any kind of seriously quantifiable measure.

Personally I'd rather not deal with ratings systems -- because inevitably some readers are great at counting but horrible at reading -- but I include them anyway for reference and ease of use.

I don't think it's fair to assume that any legal action would destroy Honneamise / Bandai Visual USA. We have no way of knowing their legal capabilities.

And if MMG (which is even smaller than Honneamise) can take on George Frickin' Lucas, triumph, and survive to continue releasing new material, I'm not so certain the legal peril is as dire as we're supposed to believe.

The current release of Gunbuster is premium, but still a small release of niche title. I don't think the U.S. Renditions comparison is that flawed.

Man, y'all talk about no one else being a fan of that Cyborg 009 series, but I know two, count 'em, TWO people who are also fans! I've got a Cyborg 002 Figure above my desk at work, and the guy down the row from me is also a huge fan. We had a whole conversation about it! I've only seen a handful of episodes when they ran it on Toonami, but damn, that was a good handful of episodes. I guess it never got a proper DVD release here, but I still think it's a fantastic property. Love those designs.

I watched Utawarerumono and liked it. It reminded me a lot of InuYasha, so it's best enjoyed if one doesn't expect much from it. The first few episodes are nothing to go by because the nature of the show changes after he leaves the village. If I hadn't heard it was based on a hentai game I would never have guessed it. There's no nudity anywhere in the show. The animal characteristics are explained towards the end of the show, though not all the answers are clear. Much of the show is really about empires and it does get into some epic battles towards the end.

An interesting thought about the Gunbuster thing: If you've got the "Futurama" DVDs, watch the "Wizard of Oz" parody episode and listen to the music. It's the same music--only NOT the same music! (Elsewhere in the series, they sing a "Happy Year Day" song that does the same thing with "Happy Birthday".)

I thought of some arguments as to why little to no stink was raised by fans regarding the sountrack alteration for the 5.1 Patlabor Movie 1 soundtrack:

First off, the American Japanese 5.1 mix was identical to the Japanese Japanese 5.1 mix and, to quote the quote I previously quoted, the alterations were not just done with the approval of the director and composer, but reflected their preferences.

Then again, the same could be said about the altered versions of a certain American trilogy, so how about this....

Y'know, I'm curious as to how many alterations were made between the 2.0 and 5.1 soundtracks. Maybe I'll put off watching my last Lupin III Part 2 TV DVD in order to watch both Patlabor 1 mixes simultaneously...

And you're right, Winter, it might be disingenuous to attempt to compare the the (sic) US Renditions release with that of BVUSA's release, but I thought it might be admissable in court--"Hey, you didn't sue them, so it's too late to try and sue us!"

Or something. Or not. I dunno. It sounded good when I wrote it at three o'clock in the morning...

I still think Bandai/Honneamise is being overly cautious, but, as I mentioned, it won't stop me from buying the DVD, just from getting rid of my VHS.

On the topic of other media getting away with Chariots parodies, I was going to point out Mr. Mom, but as it was distributed by Fox, the same studio that handled CoF outside the USA, it's not a very good argument

PS: Okay, technically I'm not quoting the quote I previously quoted, I'm paraphrasing it, but "quote the quote I previously quoted" is just too funny to let a little thing like accuracy get in the way.

PPS: Cyborg 009 Con? Count me in! I can provide video and help with the "Why it's a bad idea to release three volumes when one would have been sufficient" panel.

Hi Guys,Love the show listen to it every week. Just a clarifaction Chris Ayres andn Greg Ayres are both related they are brothers, and Clarissa I can't wait for your revire of Mazinkaiser, I am a big fan of Mazinger Z and Mazinkaiser, so I want to hear what you have to say about it. Well take care and keep up the good work

The hosting issue has been resolved. Looks like about 40% of everyone who listens was unable to retrieve the episode, so that's several hundred of you. You should also be able to check out Mike Toole's comparison of the Orphen dub to the sub now as well.

Y'know, I'm curious as to how many alterations were made between the 2.0 and 5.1 soundtracks.

All of the music has been re-orchestrated. All of it. And I greatly prefer the original soundtrack to the new one. Yet I bought it anyway.

Again, where was the outcry? They didn't announce those changes here either.

The problem with rating things on a quantified scale is that rating is inherently subjective. If a person rates things, they're more likely to give the last thing they see the highest rating, simply because it's A: the most recent thing experienced, and B: they now have a frame of reference in which to rate things. A better way to do it is to either define one thing as "average" and then rate everything relative to that, or else to watch everything and then assign ratings to all of it. But the first way, you need to be reasonably certain that you are picking something that's "average"--like, you can't really pick Evangelion and say "okay we will use Evangelion as the standard for acceptable anime". And in the second case, it's hard to incorporate new stuff into the scale--what happens if I watch something that's light-years beyond everything I've seen so far? Do I have to go back and re-rate everything else, so that I don't wind up with everything new being rated "ten"?

I'd rather see a rating system that accepts this subjectivity. As in, the ratings are "would I watch this again?" "Did I feel like I wasted my money?" "Would I show this to a friend?"

SPOILERS

I remember when "AERIS DIES" was the big spoiler on the internet. (I also remember urban legends about the side quest to bring her back from the dead.)

Also: BETH DIES!

And, the king-hell spoiler of all time: THE PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE!

GERALD

You guys sound like you're trying to recreate the plot of Grappler Baki, only with Gerald. Hey Gerald, you should have tried to hold on to those beans--remember that Baki's secret training technique was "eat a lot of food".

(Daryl, you should describe more about how Clarissa would go about making Gerald into a 'real man'.)

CONVENTIONS

I think we're seeing the result of anime conventions moving away from the actual anime, and being more about "anime fandom". That is, the fad of being an anime fan is dying down, and as a result the con audience isn't there anymore. There was a generation of teenagers who grew up pretending to be ninjas like in the cartoons, and now that generation has moved on to something else. It's just how things go.

The scene in "Mr Mom" was clearly a parody; I get the idea that the same can't be said of the "Gunbuster" thing, which was more of a "pump you up!" bit than a parody scene.

The Gunbuster thing was also a parody, but maybe not as clear to American otaku less versed in sports anime than their Japanese brethren (and maybe less clear to a jury...).

My opinion of this minor alteration was and remains that I think they were overreacting a bit, but I can understand their reasoning and am still gonna buy it (the only reason I haven't pre-ordered it is that I have a bunch of stuff backordered and little available on my credit card).

ANIME NETWORK ADS

If you put them in the Extras, then nobody will ever watch them!

You speak as if that were a bad thing...

Again, where was the outcry? They didn't announce those changes here either.

I was under the impression that Bandai Visual actually made some kind of public statement about the alteration in Gunbuster. If I'm wrong, and it was instead revealed by some overzealous fans with a screener copy and too much time on their hands, please ignore the rest of this post (except for the jokes in the postscript) and go back to the "They were too busy complaining about the price tag" theory.

Anyway (assuming my assumption is as I assumed), people raised a fuss about Gunbuster because Bandai's announcement made the info easy to find. The only people who knew about the Patlabor 1 alteration were people such as Daryl and myself, people actually willing to do a little research (even if my "research" consisted of reading the book--it still took more effort than reading an internet press release!). Being (relatively) less prone to flying off the handle, we simply said: "What? No original 2.0 track despite the fact that it was included along with the 5.1 track on the original Japanese 1998 'Sound Renewal' DVD? That sucks, but ti's not going to stop me from buying the DVD."

I'm not saying Bandai should have been silent about the minor Gunbuster alteration, just that the easier accessibility of the info made it more noticeable by people who like to overreact.

I'm not saying Bandai should have been silent about the minor Gunbuster alteration, just that the easier accessibility of the info made it more noticeable by people who like to overreact.

You are incorrect, sir. The only reason anyone knows about the edit at all is because of posts by one concerned fan on the AnimeOnDVD forum. If they hadn't pressed BVUSA about it, this info would have never seen the light of day.

You are incorrect, sir. The only reason anyone knows about the edit at all is because of posts by one concerned fan on the AnimeOnDVD forum. If they hadn't pressed BVUSA about it, this info would have never seen the light of day.

Then I must return to my "joke" theory that no one complained about the absence of the Patlabor 1 2.0 track because they were too busy complaining about the price. To put it another way, I also don't know why a minor alteration to avoid the possibility of a lawsuit was noticed and has a lot of complaints, while the more egregious alteration of re-orchestrating all of the music and not including the original non-opening-oneself-to-a-lawsuit mix wasn't included received nary a whine, let alone any order cancellation threats.

It sucks when reality gets in the way of a perfectly good long-winded theory...

Then I must return to my "joke" theory that no one complained about the absence of the Patlabor 1 2.0 track because they were too busy complaining about the price. To put it another way, I also don't know why a minor alteration to avoid the possibility of a lawsuit was noticed and has a lot of complaints, while the more egregious alteration of re-orchestrating all of the music and not including the original non-opening-oneself-to-a-lawsuit mix wasn't included received nary a whine, let alone any order cancellation threats.

My theory: there was no outcry over the new version of Patlabor, because it was in effect a Director's Cut. The Manga DVDs with the original soundtrack - though not comparable in terms of visual quality - had been available for years prior to the BVUSA re-release. In some sense, they are a viable alternative. I myself do not complain about the newer, shinier versions of the Patlabor movies because I own both the Manga and the BVUSA releases, so I have the option to listen to the original soundtrack, if I so choose.

With the DVD release of Gunbuster, we do not have the same option. Out-of-print VHS tapes is not a comparable alternative; neither is the Limited Edition, unsubtitled, more expensive Region Zero Japanese version.

Further, the changes made to Patlabor were made with the intention of improving the cinematic experience for the benefit of the viewers. (Whether this intention is actually achieved is up for debate.) The changes in Gunbuster were made to assuage the fears of a corporation regarding the unlikely possibility of a spurious lawsuit. The desires of the viewers had no role in this decision.

On the other hand, I remember watching 'Invincible', and thinking that the problem was not that they were going too far with the accents, but that they weren't going far enough. As in, people who weren't from Philadelphia could still understand what the actors were saying.

It's nice to hear that they didn't go there in the "d'Eon" dub, though. God knows that they must have been sorely tempted to have everybody tolk lahk zees, non?

I have a candidate for most mediocre anime of all time: an OAV called Tokyo Vice.

For those who haven't seen it, it's a crime drama about a bomb being set off in Tokyo and three teenagers have to stop it. Black-haired boy, Yellow-haired boy, brown-haired girl. The most generic of character mixes.

There's absolutely nothing original or interesting in it, it uses no design or animation techniques that have never been seen elsewhere, and the story is completely by the numbers. If I remember right, even the music and voice acting are utterly unremarkable. Oh, it also has the obligatory giant explosion at the end.

That's my pick for what it's worth. Which is nothing. Which is the whole point.

Another good one: "Airplane!" See, I watched this movie as a kid, and I loved it; it was just a bunch of zany gags that kept going on. And then I somehow managed to see "The High And The Mighty", and it turned out that "Airplane!" was a direct parody of that movie! Except that, as you say, the humor in "Airplane" was enjoyable without needing the context of the previous movie. Like, the running gag about "Looks like I picked the wrong week to (something)" is based on a line in THATM; so is the bit about "pour every light you've got onto that field".

Also: Fuck Tokyopop. Fuck them in the ear. I can't stand this "oh it's MANGA so we'll print it backwards just like REAL MANGA!" Dude...that doesn't work. Because while you may show the pictures right-to-left, we still read left-to-right. So in "Monster", where you get speech balloons that cover the entire panel, you have to zigzag all over the page to properly follow the narrative, and it's a pain in the ASS.

And then I somehow managed to see "The High And The Mighty", and it turned out that "Airplane!" was a direct parody of that movie!

I'm sure they borrowed more than a little from THaTM, but if you wanna talk direct parody, you gotta pick Zero Hour!Airplane! is actually a licensed remake of that film (the documentary footage on the "Don't Call Me Shirley Edition" DVD includes some shot-for-shot comparisons as well as clips of identical lines of dialogue, such as "Our survival hinges on one thing - finding someone who not only can fly this plane, but didn't have fish for dinner.").

Just last night the Sonny Chiba movie Karate Bear Fighter was on TV. When even Sonny fucking Chiba found himself having a rough time taking down a bear with his own two hands, he has a revelation about circles and (SPOILERS FOLLOW, KIDS) jumps over the bear repeatedly, then gouges its eyes out. These are things that Gerald needs to think about.

Kawagoe looks to be doing just fine with Jeeg. I'm not one bit worried.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2AGoLLWdMI

As an /a/ meme, I can explain that 4chan's emphatic recommendation means one of two things: the show is an under-the-radar sleeper classic, like Akagi (there's one you guys should watch), or it is really working overtime on satisfying otaku fetishes, like, uh, Underwater Ray Romano.

About that tokyopop thing, in Denmark the biggest television company ran a drawing competition, and on their webpage, there was a defenition of manga, because you could send in manga drawings for the competition. That basically said that manga was drawn with big eyes, sweat drops and all that shit. However it also mentions Gekiga and Akira. as being one of the more mature manga stuff. Kinda interesting.

On the other hand, I remember watching 'Invincible', and thinking that the problem was not that they were going too far with the accents, but that they weren't going far enough. As in, people who weren't from Philadelphia could still understand what the actors were saying.

You watch your mouth, boy! People from Philadelphia don't have a single bit of accent whatsoever!

That being said, while I understand the VALIDITY of complaining about southern accents in dubs... the platonic ideal of the southern accent is SO EFFING HOT that it's sometimes hard to care...

Then again, I can't think of a single "Southern accent" (quote-unquote) in a dub that was 'so effing hot'. But hope springs eternal.

I just watched both mixes simultaneously, and the only real difference I noticed with the music (other than it being softer in certain scenes, especially in the restaurant) was the strings being greatly diminished in the fight between SV2 and the out-of-control construction labor near the beginning. That said, I prefered the more prominent strings of the original 2.0 mix (in other words, I agree with Daryl).

On the off-chance that anyone gives a flying felgercarb, I had the 5.1 DVD playing on my TV and the 2.0 DVD playing on my laptop through non-isolating headphones that I wore a little off my ears. This may explain why I didn't notice as many changes as there undoubtedly were...

A few things I found consistantly amusing: All the dialogue was identical, but much of it was delivered slightly differently (best say no more, lest I start a Sub vs. Dub debate...), and in the 2.0 original there's a "Whoop! Whoop!" siren when the SHI computer room goes all "BABEL," but not when it happens to the Ark's central computer, while in the 5.1 remix there's a "Whoop! Whoop!" siren when the Ark's central computer goes all "BABEL," but not when it happens to the SHI computer room.

I think I'll wait until another day to test my theory that the Manga Patlabor DVD's are dubtitled...

Steven Foster isn't that bad. I've seen a few anime titles he's been an ADR director on and they haven't all been bad. Hell the only reason I still have Steel Angel Kurumi is because of the diolouge, that and Monica Rial autographed it. Ghost Stories was one of the funniest dubs I have heard in a long time and actually reminded me of Samurai Pizza Cats. As for Cromartie High I thought it was really funny. Maybe I have low standards for comedy? I don't know, all I know is I busted out laughing at the English dub of Cromartie High. Admitadly I haven't seen many of his other stuff but in what I have seen I did like. Recently I did manag to catch the first episode of Le Chevalier D'Eon and am intruiged.

So I know this might give you all a low opinion of my tastes but I really don't think he is that bad a ADR director. But then again he is far, Far, FAR, from being the best. I mean he sure as hell is no Matt Greenfield, not in a million years, come to think about it Sandra Krasa (The Slayers movies, Keledio Star, Azumanga Daioh) is a better ADR Director and she can act.

I wish that the mermaid from that one episode of "Futurama" was actually real, so that I could call her up and talk to her when I feel bad about life. She sounds like Galadriel should have sounded.

Although I may just be projecting. In grad school, my chief advisor was this cute little blond engineer lady from Atlanta, and I had such a crush on her. (Hell, if it hadn't been for her I probably would have dropped out!)

Being reminded of one of Anime Network's "what is anime" promos of before. The one that amused me they did was comparing the differences between "cartoon" and "anime", showing quick PD stock footage of whatever they could grab to designate "cartoon" and whatever they already got for "anime". I alerted a close bud I know that they used a few shots from his short, "Brother, Can You Spare A Job?" He apparently wasn't very happy with Anime Network's usage of said film, and was going to take legal action for their mis-interperatation of whatever Creative Commons license he had in place over how the short should've been represented.

I'm only glad I brought that to his attention, and why I don't think they show that promo much now (though I haven't seen Anime Network for months).

I take Foster on a case-by-case basis. A Tony Scott, if you will. For about every piece of quality work he has (Man on Fire, in my opinion), he does something mind-fuckingly awful (Domino). And of course, there are points where both people totally emphasize on the gay (Top Gun).